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Dim Sum and Doughnuts

A little SUMthing about growing up, making mistakes and happy endings.

If You Should Fall

August 8, 2016

During the winter of 2015, one of my friends posted a video chronicling three different athletes and their road to the Olympics. The video started on the ice when the athletes were babies. They were so cute, on their skates, falling down all over the place. As they grew older, they fell more. BOOM BOOM BOOM. Sometimes they had accidents—bad accidents—and they broke bones. But the bones healed, and the athletes got back at it.

They always got back at it.

It was a powerful video, and by the time all three of the athletes reached The Olympics, I was crying. I then made both of my girls watch it because why the hell should I be crying alone? No, gracias. Plus, it taught an inspirational lesson of perseverance, and maybe one I could “skate” out of if they just “watched the video.”

It’s now summertime, and my family is living at an overnight summer camp full of kids. The other day, as I was walking by the hockey rink, I was reminded of those athletes from the video. There were some kids playing in the rink, and one of them fell just as I was walking by. The oldest boy, a former camper, handled the fall perfectly. He yelled “You’re OK??” towards the kid who fell, but it actually sounded more like a statement than a question.

That’s because he knew the kid was OK. He fell down. No big deal. That’s part of it.

Whenever we learn something new, we fall down. The question isn’t whether or not we’re going to fall, it’s whether or not we get back up. And that’s not just with sports—it’s new jobs, new babies, new lifestyle choices, new “normals.”

Anything new has a learning curve.

The oldest boy who was “coaching” in the hockey rink, he has been coming to camp since he was very young and I have had the privilege to watch him grow. I’ve watched him fall many times over the years, in many different ways, but he has always gotten back up. It was cool to watch him help a younger kid do the same, because I remember a time when he was that kid. He has since learned the importance of practice and determination, the rewards it can bring, and the character it builds.

I have a daughter who also knows all of this, because we talk about it, but she couldn’t care less. At least not yet. She wants no part of Mommy’s awesome wisdom (her loss), and she wants no part of falling down. If she can’t do something (pretty much anything) perfectly the first time, she wants out. She will stomp off and claim she doesn’t “like it,” and I have to pep-talk her until she gets back in the ring.

It’s interesting living at camp with her, because even though I’m always usually accessible, I try not to make myself overly available. It’s not my place right now to talk my daughter back into something, or catch her when she falls. Sure, my instinct is to be there, especially because I easily could be, but I know I need to distance myself. While my daughter is at camp, she’s a camper, and my job, as her parent, is to let her go. This is her time to utilize the people around her (not me) to help her figure things out for herself.

My daughter will fall, just like that kid in the rink, and the athletes in the video. Everyone falls. It’s part of growing up, and it’s part of life. It’s only fair, though, to try again, because we’ll know more the second time around. We’ll know better how not to make the same mistakes. And if we get blindsided by something we weren’t prepared for—an unplanned hit that comes out of nowhere, (because that s**t happens)—and we go down, we’ll know better how to deal when we get up, because we have dealt before.

And then one day, because we have been there ourselves, we can teach someone else what we have learned, if they too should fall.

If you should fall

(The daughter)

If you should fall 2
(The “Coach”)

 

Thanks for being here! 

The DS+D crew 

Related posts:

When You're Feeling Left Out
The Eyedeegafs
Whose Kid???
Dissecting The Mean Girl

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Filed Under: Camp Life, Marriage and Family, Parenthood & Parenting Tips Tagged With: Getting back on the horse, growing up is hard, New normal, no pain no gain, parenting blog, part of growing up, pay it forward, summer camp blog

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Comments

  1. Sharon says

    August 9, 2016 at 11:54 am

    A very well done piece, Robyn! One of the most valuable gifts you can give your children is resiliency. These days, too few kids have it and when they become adults they are not prepared for much of what happens in their daily life. You’re a good mom!

    • Robyn says

      August 11, 2016 at 8:30 am

      So funny and so appropriate that you commented because when my girlfriend and I went for ice cream the other night, I told her about you and how you guys bring like 3 huge tubs of Ashby’s to us when you come over, and that’s how we found out about it. I explained that you have been such a guidance for me in so many areas, and we were cracking up that ice cream was one of them. And now here you are. I need you in so many ways. Thank you for being a part of this. It will be so great for the divas to see you here when they get the “keys” one day. LOVE LOVE LOVE you.

  2. Amy says

    August 10, 2016 at 9:28 am

    So true! Fail and fall forward!

    • Robyn says

      August 11, 2016 at 8:26 am

      I love that quote, Amy. I might have to make a “MEME” of it! LOVE.

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